Gamification Concepts for Sales and Marketing

Gamification Concepts for Sales & Marketing

Gamification in operational and productive capacities

Arguably, gamification can be truly utilized best by those in marketing and sales. This is of course because both sales and marketing are heavily competitive and of course, gamification itself is a marketing device / method unto itself. Aside from being yet another incentive to engage users, gamification may also be introduced to (sales and marketing) management strategies. Since sales and marketing is mostly performance-based it only makes sense that gamification (which is also heavily influenced by performance) would become a major player there.

If you have personally served on a sales or marketing team, then you are most likely already familiar with gamification. For example, if you've ever received a commission check, then you know what gamification is. Most companies will institute a 'rewards program' of sorts, for its employee(s) that are able to achieve a certain level of sales, for example. Perhaps a car, boat or members-only privileges to a prestigious country club would be among the prizes one might receive in these types of situations. Fostering an air of competitiveness among employees can have negative consequences, but as long as there are specific gains in question (no potential losses), employees will greatly enjoy participating in gamification programs.

While using gamification to drive sales and marketing (teams) is certainly nothing new, using it to interact and compel customers to buy or participate certainly is. Time and time again studies have shown that those businesses that are able to keep their visitors/customers/users busy are usually able to achieve higher sales conversions. Likewise, those that are able to capture increasing numbers of potential customers often have much higher repeat business as well. What does all of this tell us? Customers like to be confronted with goal oriented activities especially where rewards and incentives are presented. In this way, gamification offers a sales and marketing team the ability to not only generate consumer interest, but also grow a certain amount of brand loyalty in the process perhaps.

Some concepts for gamifying sales and/or marketing tactics

• Introduce a series of fun and entertaining games or apps via social media to coincide with product releases. The idea here is to create extremely fun and engaging materials that customers will be more apt to share across their vast network(s) of friends, thereby reaching an extended audience in the process.
• Transform all 'customer service survey' activities into engaging social media. Do you personally stop to fill out every customer survey you come across? Why not take this opportunity to give your visitors/customers a thrill and gather some valuable information in the process?
• Collect customer ideas for products and/or ads via gamification processes by offering big rewards to the winners. Giving your customers the opportunity to introduce product ideas or create advertisements accomplishes a number of tasks. For starters, it can provide you with a product/ad campaign that really connects with the desires of your target demographic, but it can also open up new avenues in terms of product direction and message. Consumers also tend to gush more about rewards programs, especially when the stakes are higher. There is also the hidden benefit of perhaps gaining insight into a more direct and groundbreaking advertising scheme, and for but a fraction of the costs associating with hiring new staff or setting up benefits packages. It's a bit like contracting work out to your customers, and why not? Customers often have a certain insight into your business or products that you simply cannot grasp, through them; you can use this knowledge to your advantage.

Online Gamification

The most obvious place to begin implementing gamification en masse is in online sales (of course). No one could have predicted that social media gaming (like that on Facebook) would become as big and widespread as it has become. Overnight, thousands of games and apps began springing up across various social media platforms and sites. Soon thereafter, businesses began scrambling to tap into this potential market. To put it simply, gamification has revolutionized customers' expectations.

It's simply not enough to get visitors or generate a moderate amount of interest these days, organizations are looking to capture consumers and keep them coming back for more on a regular basis. But we're not talking about physical addiction or the need for regular maintenance here, this is about positively motivating customers to seek out your services, products, and materials on their own accord. This is done by means of providing them with highly entertaining and/or thought provoking materials or apps, and perhaps offering up the occasional reward / incentive program. Because consumers often connect to a company's gamification resources free-of-charge, they literally have 'nothing to lose' and 'everything to gain' through participation in your program(s).

Gamification represents yet another step in the evolutionary ladder of sales and marketing. Sure, the basic principles behind both (sales and marketing) haven't really changed, but the internet has absolutely permeated nearly every aspect of our lives and transformed the way we do business. It has also changed our expectations; now, we may only come to trust or know those businesses that are able to supply us with the entertainment value and incentives (which we're acclimated to). Organizations that are able to integrate gamification processes both inside their operation, as well as outwardly in their products, services, and promotions are going to be the most successful in today's market(s).

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The Art of Service now offers two products around Gamification:

1. Introduction to Gamification eLearning Program - Gamification for IT Professionals

2. Gamification Toolkit